Sexually Transmitted Diseases/Hpv or something else?

Hi I am 22 I was wondering if this is hpv or a different std ? I feel bumps on the opening of my vagina Sometimes it itches and sometimes it doesn't it is painful if I try to stretch my vagina I got checked in 2014 but it all came back negative I have not been sexually active for 3 years please help

AnswerHello Michelle,
The bumpiness you may feel at the opening of your vagina (introitus) are normal constituents of this tissue. Nothing to worry about! The itching and irritation that you experience may be from a mild vaginal yeast infection, or from trying to stretch the vaginal opening too vigorously, especially if you haven't had any penetrative sex. It does NOT appear to be HPV.

Although the photos look normal, if you've ever had sex with a penis, it nevertheless is important to have a Pap smear since HPV is a sexually transmitted virus that is associated with vulvar, vaginal, and cervical abnormalities that can result in cancer, and these cannot always be easily observed as a visible abnormality.

Expertise

Almost any question or concern about gay men's health issues, sexually transmitted infections, abnormal Pap smears, anal cytology (anal "Pap smears"), etc.
There is no such thing as “d/d free” or “clean” (free of infection), so why do so many of us deceive ourselves into thinking that some people are indeed totally free from a potentially infectious disease, like HIV, herpes, hepatitis, syphilis, chlamydia, warts, gonorrhea, etc., just because they say so? Clinical laboratory tests are not perfect, and having a “negative” or “nonreactive” test does not mean that a person is free from infection. Perhaps at the moment the test was taken, the person was uninfected; or, perhaps, the test wasn’t sensitive enough to detect presence of the infection. There is really no way that anyone can determine that they are truly “disease free,” and there are over a hundred of infectious conditions that can be spread without your knowing anything.
Rather than trying to “pre-screen” or “serosort” a potential sex-mate with deceptive questions that are impossible to know by today’s technologies, a wiser option may be to consider everyone infected with something, and either use appropriate protective measures (“safer sex”), or accept the responsibility and consequences of possibly “catching” something from someone who’s hotter than expected (pun intended!).
There is much research that supports the contention that an HIV positive person reliably taking HIV medications, and having an undetectable viral load, presents a lower risk for transmission of HIV than people who may think or say they are HIV negative, but are not. Food for thought!

OrganizationsCo-Founder, Lesbian, Bisexual, & Gay Physician Assistant Caucus of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, Inc.;
American Academy of Physician Assistants;
Wisconsin Academy of Physician Assistants;
National Co-Chair (2012-16), National Association of Black and White Men Together: A Gay, Multiracial Organization for All People (NABWMT)

PublicationsJournal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (JAPA)
Q Visions, Quarterly Newsletter of the NABWMT